Teen author Bron Bahlmann holds book signing at Emery County schools

Bron Bahlmann, along with his mother Shirley, was in Emery County visiting each school recently. He promoted his new book, Bone Warriors.

Bron is a sophomore in high school who lives in Manti. He is the fifth child in a line of six boys. Shirley said, "I drove him over here this morning because he doesn't have his driver's license yet." Shirley is also a published author, having written many books, some self-published.

Bron began the presentations with asking six students to come up and compete in putting puzzles together. As the students worked, Bron explained how many problems can look and seem overwhelming, but if you take it one step at a time, one piece at a time, the problem is not so daunting.

"Many people have asked me 'How do you write, I can't think of anything to write'. I just tell them that if you can speak, you can write," said Bron.

To demonstrate this idea, he asked three students to come forward. The first student gave him a character, the second gave him a location, and the third gave him a problem to overcome. The San Rafael Junior High students came up with Helga, the flying pig, who lived in a shoe box in Arkansas, with the problem of keeping away from the Canadians who had run out of bacon.

"You may think this is silly, but books are born of just such ideas. Many of my ideas come from dreams. I keep paper and pen close at hand to write them down in the middle of the night," said Bron. "Bone Warriors was a dream that I had several times."

He told the students that if they are writing something, they can write about anything they want. "Let your imagination run wild," he said. "When you arrive at an idea, ask yourself 'what if' questions. Write your story around those what ifs."

Shirley explained the difference between relating an incident using plain words, and telling the same story by describing the sounds, smells, and sights surrounding the same incident. "A very well detailed story including information about the five senses, sight, smell, hearing, tasting, and feeling, make a simple story better," Shirley said.

Bron said he is working on the sequel to Bone Warriors now, the working title is Skin Warriors. He told the students he just takes on a problem one step at a time. Students asked Bron several questions about writing and how to get your work published.